Miniature motor car



T. S. HUTCHISON MINIATURE MOTOR CAR Filed Feb. 9, 1929 [/v VENTOR THOMAS 5, HUTCH/SON ATmeA/EY Patented Oct. v21 1930 I l meme eifiviwcignsa,

f mIiTIA'r nE it 1,779,096 v or. mime, ILLINOIS 1 moron e Application filed rebniaqe, 1929. se'flam w m; i

My invention relates to a construction of Immature motor-car for use'by children for recreational purposes; which motor car gis preferably driven byelectricity and preferof'sma'll sizeso that it-mayaccommodate 5 abl of sufiicient powerto haul trailer cars; f 7

n connection with recreationparks, play grounds and even private f homes ingmany cases, thereis a considerable 1 demand-for moving devices of on e kindaior another for 10 the entertainmentfof children and-7 it is an but afewchildren;.tof-permit it being read 2 ily handled; in placing" it on the track'and removing it'to shelter-if desired; Thetrack. is preferably narrow gauge, for example fifteen inchesand provided with a'=third rail of suitable type to sup ly current to the' motor mechanism on the motor car; Suitable moved from the car platform .asrdesiredi so that the car maybe used for different. punv P s, depending po 't e ncy of the 'chil: l n playing with'it, and that itwals may beused under different weather conditions."

Bygmyiinvention I provideabody of the kind referred to that may) be placed on: the Y car ]gilatf ori:n" and positively retained thereon k ithout the use offastening devices of. any

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. My invention' will'best e reference ":tO the accompanying drawings showingkapreferr'ed embodiment there0f, 1nj' which 1 v F1g.,1' shows the motor car inpers'pective topyiew withthe' body in position to-be low?- ered upon the platform although as shown it 1s notresting upon the car andis slightly elerig. 2 is a planvievr o f theQ-car with the body; removed and the 'platformi of the car i partlybroken away mechanism, and

c.Fig.--3.;is a;diagrammaticvie'w -illustrat' the circuit connections that may be; employe 7 devices; are-employedjto guard thethirdrail :withthe track'construction.

f 'des'cribed indetailinfthej'present applica-f -tj x -i a; In constructing a "motor car of the' kin'd a under considerations," it is important-that the 153 ground,wh ich is re'adily attainedwithacar of small size -to' the end that children riding :axles'in-any convenient manner: 5 on the car will "not be injured ifstheyffa'll 1 i from it; A further important consideration;

is that the car should b e-constructedtopro- 'tectfall ofthe gearing and wheels oflthe' 'car so that' children playingaroundgthe'track 4 will Iiotcomein contact-With it; Since the track construction does not constitute a part platform of the car 1 'should be" near the and prevent grease and oil getting ongthe clothing ofthe children, and 'further, that ;means beemploy'ed td prevent' the children e 1 parts at all and thus prevent accidents. This result I raccomplish byf a'novel construction;

getting-in contact with the wheelsor moving below described. It :is'; may desirable} that-51a car of this kind shall be pr'ovided with a k I cl s d-rbo'dyhat m y ;1 ac d'? n a d e-r l m t o; th 1 42 Int :mann meta-$1 Similar numerals. refer nto) similar parts throughout theseveralviewsx .i' As shown'iin Fig; 1 2, the car consists of the presentiinventionfitisnot shownand rigid rectangular frame 10 which may be of wood or:metal as preferred, tothe lower edge of which, bearing's 'boxes 11' are securedjto support the front and rear. ax1es'f12 and .13.

TheJaX-1es-project beyond thekbearing boxes --1'1-;an'd "have" secured5t0 5 their gends, track V .wheels;rl4;,jwhichzarefrigidly' securedTtoFthe the frame 10andextended beyondthev frame sufliciently toproject somewhatiibeyondathe o wheels 14; wThe motor:pinio1i"17-mesheswith m ,a gar l8carried by ashaftlfi) supported :in suitable-bearings by" the-Yframe 10"fllld plate :tojshow theoperating.

,1; by e {An electric motor: 1-5, 1Which may bef alsmall motor, 'for example, vone quarter horsepowemr one-:thirdhorsepower; ls sup- Q0 ported fromtheunder-side"of.thezplatform- I l6, which;platform is secured 'tolthe ftoplrfof 1 i form:16; and,imadditionzthe 'shaft19 carries api-r ori 2. m s i gw hi jg a 21-;rigidly; s.

tion of the motor 15 drives the axle 12 and the wheels 14 attached to it, at a slow speed relatively to the speed of the motor 15. One of the wheels 14 may have mounted adj acentto it as indicated, a brake shoe 22 carried by,

a short shaft 23 in a suitable bearing carried by theiiiraame 10, to the other end of which an operating handle 2% may be secured. to operate the brake shoe and bring the car to a stop, the handle 24 projecting upwardly through the platform 16, so "as to be conveniently available to the driver of the car.

The axle 12 is engaged by a spring contact arm 25 carried by and insulated. from the frame 10, to constitute one terminal of the circuit connected with the wiring of the car. A trolley wheel 26 i's'carried by the underside of the platform. 16 and insulated therefrom to-constitute the other terminal of the wiring of the car. The frontsof the car may have extending therefrom a headlight 27, and switches 28 and. 29 are mounted onto of the platform 16 tov control the headlight 27 and motor 15 respectively. The contact spring 25 is connected by wires 30 and 31 with the motel-15 and with the switch 28 respectively. The other wire 32 extending from the motor connects. with the switch 29. The other terminals of the switches 28 and 29 are connected respectively by wires 33 and 34 with the headlight 27 and the trolley wheel 26. The other terminal of the headlight 27 is connected by wire 35-With wire 34c. From. the connections described, when the switch 29 is closed tostamtthe motor, a circuit connection is established between the contact spring 25 through wires 30, 32 and 34-, from the main tracks and the third rail upon which the car maybe resting. In this way the operation of the; car is. directly and in a simple manner under the control of the driver thereof. It

wilsl'be noticedthat no starting resistance is inserted in the operating circuit of the motor 15. This is a desirable-condition for the sake of simplicity and safety from fire risk, where car is to be handled by children. This condition is attainable only when the motor of smallsize, for example, one-quarter homepower or'one-th-ird horsepower. It will also be observed that the headlight is controlled. by the switch 28 through the wires 31, 33, 35 and 34, so that it may be lighted or not as the driver of the minaturecar may desire.

o5 I p gearing and mechanism of the car, 1n order To insure against contact with the driving thatthe clothing of the children may be protected from the oil and grease necessary to lubricate themoving parts, I provide a downwardly extending apron 36 around the outer edge of the platform 16, which has a depth -verticallysuflicient to bring it down nearly. to th e plane of the tread surfaces-of the track which of courseis the same as the plane of the tops 'of the main rails oftne with inspecting the under part of the car or repairing the car when necessary, since the entire car'is of small size and may readily be turned upside down by workmen if rcpairs are required. The headlight 27 is conveniently mounted on the front wall of the apron 36. In addition to constituting a guard',,the apron 36 also gives a pleasing finish and. appearance to the car, since it entirely surrounds the main frame 10 of the car. Thispermits the frame 10 to be made in any manner that is most conducive to strengthand the effective operation of the car, with no regard for appearance, while the apron 36 may be designed and constructed largely from the standpoint'of appearance since itis not involved in supporting or driving the car.

Around the edge of the platform 16 and projecting above its upper surface, it provide a ledge 37, for example from one to two inches high, which if no car body isused, 1- aids in retalnmg the driver and passengers on the car, as well asother articles that may be transported from one location to another on the miniature railway. The ledge 37 has, however, another purpose as follows: to increase the usefulness of the car, I provide it with a body 38 consisting of side walls hav- 'ng windows therein as indicated and a roof 39 extending a substantial distance outwardlybeyond the side walls so that the overhang;

will provide considerable protection to the occupants of the car, if it is used in the rain. One of the side walls of the body 38, for example the back wall 38 is preferably hinged as indicated at 40. to the adjacent side. wall, so that easy entrance and exit may be had to and from the body. The outerdimensions of the side walls ofthe body are preferably so taken that the body is a free sliding fit inside of the ledge 37 so that all:-

that is required. in placing the body on the car is to locate it. inside of the ledge 37 and resting upon the platform. 16, the removal of the body being an equally simple operation.

The ledge 37 efiectively prevents displace-( ios rail 42 is disposed, one of the main rails 41 .and the third rail being connected by wires 43 and 44 with contactsofa switch 45, the blades ofiwhich may be connected with g main supnly wires 46 and47. In this'manner, the operation oft-he car may. be controlled .-by the switch regardless of whetherthe switch 29 is: operated or not; This affords awsimpleand convenient means for cutting off the entire track system from connection I with the electric supply circuit, when and as Y desired. v 1 I While I have shownmy invention in the particular embodiment above described, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to'this exact constructionfas-I may employ equivalents known to the art at the time of the filing of 'this application without de- 'parting from the scope of the appended claim. a WhatIclaim is: p n I In a. miniature-car having aframe, axles and track wheels below the frame, and a platform on the frame, the combination of a continuous apron' around-the' edge of said platform and extending both above and below said platform, the portion of said apron below said platform extendin downwardly to "olosel adjacent tracks" or said, track wheels an the portion of'said apron above said platform constitutingwa ledge projecting above and extending around said platform to removably receive within it a car bodyloosely resting on said platform. In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my'name this 29th day of January, A. D. M

1929. I I THOMAS SQHUTCHISON. a 

